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EUROPE > Norway >
Oslo
Norway: Expensive but Beautiful
Jane
Dickman
Article & Pictures © 2009 Jane Dickman
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Norway,
and Oslo in particular, can be summed up in three words: ‘stengt,
dyrt , vakkar’ (closed, expensive, beautiful). |
Norway,
and Oslo in particular, can be summed up in three words: ‘stengt,
dyrt , vakkar’ (closed, expensive, beautiful). I have travelled
extensively throughout the Nordic lands, all of which enjoy a high standard
of living and quality of life. But I still reel at the fact I paid the
equivalent of GBP15 for a margarita pizza … and that was without
any oregano or black pepper on top! At least the restaurant, which overlooked
Oslofjord, was open and both the location and the staff were stunningly
beautiful. In fact, as a nation, the Norwegians seem to attractively
good looking but generally totally unaware of this fact.
The other thing that struck Mandy and myself was the efficiency of
the city’s public transport system. The buses, trains and boats
all tied in to each other with virtually no waiting in between connections.
Even so on our return to Gardemoen (Oslo Airport) I was in British transport
mode and having just missed a train by a minute thought we would miss
our plane to Narvik. I’d momentarily forgotten this is Norway
and of course another, indeed faster train, to the airport appeared
as I was panicking. I should have known given our smooth journeys from
our hotel to the city centre and then out to Bygdoy and our sojourn
to Vigelands Park – a real bargain as we got there and back within
the hour on the same bus ticket and had enough time to enjoy the sculptures
and flowers – what seemed like acres of beautiful roses or meadow-effect
plant beds. The bus driver looked gutted we had just started our return
journey with a minute to spare from the start stamp time. Result! Sadly
we could not therefore stop off on the way back to check out the pet
clothing emporium we had spotted on the outward journey. It offered
a range of dog and cat clothing! So Mandy’s cat reclines on the
back patio still thinking she’s modelling cat haute couture in
her royal blue collar with matching bell. She does not know what she
has missed!Lucky escape I would say!
I
had to visit Norway’s main library - the Deichman library (Deichmanske
Bibliotek) (that must surely have been set up by a distant relative!).
The historic museum was interesting – but we got there with an
hour to spare before it closed. It was still an opportunity to indulge
my interest in the Vikings only to be surpassed by the Viking Ships
Museum on Bygdoy. I first visited this museum 30 years ago and was overawed
then by the Gokstad and Oseberg ships. Once again I was stunned by the
scale, design, grace and beauty of these ships. Even though these were
‘grave’ ships, just imaging their counterparts appearing
on the horizon a 1,000 years ago or more as they headed toward the shores
of Scotland and NW England made me feel proud of my birthplace’s
ancestral connections with the Norwegian Vikings, for it was they who
settled on the Wirral, via Ireland.
Bydgoy is a promontory into Oslo fjord and a short boat ride from the
city centre that offers a different perspective on the city. It is a
quiet residential suburb which is also home to the Fram, Ra and Kontiki
boat museums and the Norsk Folk Museum (an outdoor museum of buildings).
Again each was an absolute ‘must see’ in our book. Mandy
had been inspired by the Kontiki as a child and I hold a fascination
with Antarctica so we could not miss visiting these boats. They were
incredibly small compared to the journeys and locales they sailed to.
Wandering around the Fram I still cannot believe how small some of the
cabins were. Mind you, by comparison to the Ra and Kontiki this is a
substantial vessel. The latter two crossing the Pacific would have been
like a wine cork bobbing in an Olympic size swimming pool and the on
board shelter looked flimsy for such an epic voyage. One can only admire
Thor Heyerdahl and indeed those first nameless explorers.
The
Norsk Folk Museum provided a chance to be outside in the summer sunshine
admiring the houses that had been transported to the museum from the
various regions of Norway and has the only example of a Stave church
in southern Norway. Stave churches are wooded churches unique to Norway,
it is as though the cloister is wrapped round the outside of the church
itself but the roof detail with the dragons heads, reminiscent of Buddist
temples in Malaysia and China, is so beautiful and like the roof tiles
carving out of wood. For me this was the most fascinating of the buildings
on display.
Oslo City Hall is best viewed from Oslofjord as it stands proudly at
the fjord’s head. Its design is somewhat wanting for such a centrepiece
structure and reminds me of the air vents for the Birkenhead to Liverpool
road tunnel. It is the venue for the presentation of the Nobel Peace
prize (all the other Nobel prizes are awarded in Stockholm). In Alfred
Nobel’s time Norway and Sweden were one and Oslo was known as
Christiana.
The
main Avenue leading to the Royal Palace is beautiful parkland with stunning
fountains and statutes. The Royal Palace has a slight look of Buckingham
Palace in London but in colour and scale, I felt it was more homely.
We walked along the main Avenue on a couple of occasions during the
trip... it was free, a Norwegian rarity. The first time it was very
peaceful and serene. However, the second visit was quite the opposite
as we tried to avoid hordes of modern horned helmet clad Vikings chanting
and marauding through in their football shirts. Norway were playing
host against some other European team. I have to admit compared to similar
events in Manchester it was relatively civilised.
The other resounding memory of this trip was that many places and things
were either closed or just about to close as we arrived to visit them.
We were there in August yet this seemed to be outside Norway’s
main tourist season.
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